Alabama football players have been taking ownership of their performances since Saturday’s 24-17 loss at Tennessee.
And crediting Volunteers fans for creating a difficult atmosphere from which to work.
“We have to acknowledge that was a great crowd that we just played in front of,” Alabama redshirt junior quarterback Jalen Milroe said minutes after the Crimson Tide dropped to 5-2 overall this season and 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play. “It’s one of the greatest crowds in the country. It’s on us to control our controllables, understand our assignments, understand our snap counts and understand what we need to do to move forward when playing games like this.
“It was great to have an opportunity like this. Now we can reflect and understand what it takes to win games like this.”
Milroe was intercepted twice Saturday, and his 14 carries netted 11 yards for 0.8 yards per rush. The Crimson Tide only managed 75 rushing yards overall against Tennessee’s stingy defense on 34 carries.
The most notable reflection of Neyland Stadium’s impact on the contest, however, was Alabama’s 15 penalties for 115 yards.
“This environment here is a crazy environment,” Crimson Tide junior receiver Germie Bernard said of his first experience in the towering 101,915-seat facility.
Alabama is 1-3 in its last four games played at road venues in excess of 100,000, losing on the final play at Tennessee and at LSU in 2022 and topping Texas A&M 26-20 in College Station last season. The Crimson Tide will visit LSU and mammoth Tiger Stadium on Nov. 9.
Next up for No. 15 Alabama and first-year coach Kalen DeBoer is No. 21 Missouri (6-1, 2-1), which will visit Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3:45 on ABC).
“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” DeBoer said Monday during his weekly news conference. “We knew that winning a championship each and every year, especially in the SEC, is going to be hard. We knew there were going to be challenges along with transitions and all that. There are no excuses.
“The message here is that there are never going to be excuses. That’s one thing that only softens character. It only lowers the standard, so that will never happen.We have to continue to move forward. We have to continue to build. This week is all about taking that next step.”
Saban’s message
ESPN analyst and former Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban spoke Monday in Birmingham at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club.
Saban told reporters in a brief news conference that being a coach is like “looking through a straw” in that your only focus is your team and the team you’re about to face. He added that being an analyst has provided him a broader view.
“I never knew what Oregon was doing or what Nebraska was doing,” Saban said.
It didn’t take long for the seven-time national championship coach — including six during his 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa — to get asked to analyze the Crimson Tide.
“I don’t really analyze Alabama,” he said. “I’m a fan now, so I think the message that I would give to everybody is that the most important thing that all of us can do as fans for Alabama is to be supportive. Support the program. Support the players. Support the coaches.
“That will enhance us to be able to have the best solution and transition.”
Saban admitted that predicting games every Saturday morning is not his strength.
“When Miss Terry just completely kicks my ass on ‘GameDay’ in front of the whole world, how bad is that?” he said with a smile.
Stopping the run
Alabama allowed 214 rushing yards to the Vols, the most allowed by the Crimson Tide this season.
“I thought we actually stopped the run outside of three explosive plays,” defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said Monday. “The yardage was obviously not what we want, but you look at how they got them, and it wasn’t 7 or 8 yards a carry. It was three explosive plays, with one of them being a quarterback scramble.”
Tide tidbits
Alabama has won all four meetings against Mizzou since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012, with 19 points serving as the closest margin of victory. … Redshirt sophomore safety Keon Sabb, who has 30 tackles and two interceptions in his first season since transferring from Michigan, will be “out for a while” with a lower extremity according to DeBoer. … DeBoer on the 15-yard penalty that junior receiver Kendrick Law committed after being provoked by Tennessee freshman defensive back Boo Carter: “We’ve got to make sure if someone’s talking to us, we’ve got to learn to walk the other way and be more emotionally disciplined in every facet.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.